God’s Toolbox (1)

The moment I left the barrier and opened my eyes, a huge white cube about the size of my upper body stared back at me.

Each face was divided into sixteen squares and, above all, it was pure white—so pristine it felt like touching it would soil it. I couldn’t even bring a finger close.

It kept chanting “Error” in an electronic tone, like a periodic beep.

“What the…?”

‘Confirm.’

『This is an unidentifiable object.』

“What?”

The message was the same as when I had previously ‘confirmed’ Caelum lying around the mansion.

So does that mean this cube is god-tier? No way. It’s just a cube.

“Suho, do you know what this is by any chance?”

He never knows anything when it’s actually needed.

What made me more impatient was that the cube’s “Error” beeps were shortening their intervals and it was vibrating slightly.

“I-Is this going to explode?”

The old military taunt, “Doesn’t knowing matter?” popped into my head.

Ignoring Suho’s ‘I don’t know,’ I slowly circled the bizarre thing for the first time, trying to figure out what to do.

Front, back, sides—sixteen white squares on each face. That was it. On a whim I poked it with a finger, but nothing happened.

“What the hell is this! Ah!”

I stepped back from the cube as it continued pulsing “Error!” Then I pulled a communication crystal from my inventory and poured a lot of divine power into it.

Shio had sworn this special crystal could connect even beyond the Monster Belt. Before I left, Talis had apparently hijacked it and added a few functions.

“Shio?”

―Huh? …Is that you?

“Why are you reacting like that?”

―Hey, you! You crazy bastard!!

Shio’s shout was so loud the crystal in my hand trembled.

“Ah, you startled me. You scared me!”

―You bastard, what have you been doing for four days!!

“I was trapped…? Four days?”

―Trapped?! Where!!

“In a barrier. No—four days?”

―A barrier? What kind of barrier and how were you trapped?! Who dares imprison such an ignorant fool like you!!

Shio and I volleyed questions at each other until I gave up first.

“It was a Phylaca barrier.”

―Phylaca? That weird barrier? What was the bypass condition?

Only after I explained how I escaped did Shio realize I’d been trapped for three whole days. I also learned the legion members had been extremely worried.

I asked him to explain it properly to them, then moved on to the immediate problem.

―So what does it look like? Talis has arrived.

“It’s a cube. Pure white, about one meter per edge. One face has sixteen squares. And it doesn’t seem like an ordinary object—I can’t retrieve any information on it.”

Silence crackled through the crystal for a long moment. Did Talis not know either?

Growing impatient and about to check whether the connection had cut,

―Damn, you can’t touch that.

“Huh?”

―It’s a ‘Latens Cube.’ It’s like a toolbox gods use when imitating the Creator. It’s not creation itself, but functions like a program that grabs modules and sets guides for producing something—mortals can’t manipulate it. So come back.“

“…What? Wait. It’s repeating ‘error’ continuously.”

―What? Impossible! That system stores its database in the Akashic Records—there can’t be errors…! What color is the Latens Cube? Look closely!

The voice wasn’t Shio’s. At Talis’s urgent shout I lifted the cube and saw red staining rising from the base to a certain height.

“Oh? The very bottom is a bit red. It was on the ground so I didn’t see it.”

―…Crazy. What on earth is happening! Wait!

Shio and Talis’s voices faded as if something was crashing around them.

Meanwhile, the red energy climbed the cube’s walls very slowly, like chromatography.

―Disciple.

“Yes, speak.”

―Smash it.“

“…What?”

―Hit it with plenty of Deicide and Destruction. You’re still in training. You won’t die.“

I opened my mouth to ask whether that was advice or nonsense, but I was too nervous to push further. Instead I asked what would happen afterward.

“And then?”

―When its rank drops, put it into your pocket dimension and bring it. Then the northern Monster Wave will end. What crazy god put that there? It’s designed so a severe shock will crash the system. Pack Deicide and Destruction into it and hit it with all your might.“

“Just to be safe—when you say I won’t die, you mean that for sure?”

Talis hesitated, then answered nonchalantly.

―Sometimes it self-destructs to protect the data.

I cut the connection with an “understood” and stared at the Latens Cube that kept screaming “Error!”

I tried to put it in my inventory just in case, but it bounced out.

“Tch. Suho, brace for impact.”

I dug deep into the chaos lodged in my dantian. I formed Deicide in my right hand and the energy of Destruction in my left, pouring my will into both.

Whoosh—

The energy that had flared up suddenly subsided. Just as annoyance at the error alert and repeated failures began to rise, ferocious power and an ominous aura burst from both my hands simultaneously.

After more than twenty failures, Deicide and Destruction finally synchronized.

“Got it!”

I locked my burning hands together, raised them high, and slammed them down with everything I had.

Thud—

Though the Latens Cube looked hard, the impact sounded like hitting something soft. The cube fell silent; its top dented inward.

Why did that silence feel so ominous?

“As always, a bad feeling never lies. Damn it!”

The cube spat “Error” continuously as the red energy raced up its walls even faster.

It was clearly bad—urgent enough to curse about. Still, I felt only annoyance, not panic. There was no urgency to flee. It was like watching a thriller when you already know how it ends.

Just as I was about to draw Deicide and Destruction again,

Suho requested in a sleazy, flirtatious tone.

Lee Hyo-ju leapt from her seat when she heard Talis had visited the guardhouse.

“We got a message?!”

“Yes, we got a message from the disciple. He’s okay. He said he was trapped in a barrier and couldn’t contact us.”

“A barrier?!”

At that moment the guard captain’s office door opened and Hazel, Naruan, and Mae Young-ryeong stepped in. Rebound Legion members filed in until the office was packed.

“Mr. Talis!”

“Is that true?”

“You mean you contacted the captain, sir?”

“Quiet! Why all the fuss!”

The market-like chatter died under Talis’s shout.

The Rebound Legion were respected and feared by monsters, but to them Talis was more than a monster. Hearing his voice for the first time in fifty days froze them.

Only then did Talis, wearing a satisfied smile, gently report on Kim Han.

“The disciple is fine. He’ll contact us again soon, so we can end the Monster Wave as is. We’ve been informed the cause of the Monster Wave has been dealt with. I think if we hold for at least a day—maybe two—it’ll be over.”

Everyone sighed in relief.

For the Rebound Legion, the Monster Wave wasn’t a major problem. Unlike the west and east walls, Kim Han had prepared overwhelming forces in advance, installed traps and snares, and significantly reduced the manpower needed.

What worried them was the commander, Kim Han, whose contact had been cut off.

“Until then, keep your mouths shut so we don’t hear useless talk. I see rats scurrying about here and there.”

“Yes, we’ve already identified them. There are 29 on Violentia’s side and 45 on Benialis’s. We’ll round them up after the wave ends. We’ll teach them a lesson.”

Lee Hyo-ju’s words were venomous; her tone so cold the legion members flinched. It showed how stressed she’d been.

From her perspective—constantly manifesting Gwaneum since Kim Han left—the movements of those rats had sharpened her nerves. It was like something irritating lodged in her mouth that she couldn’t remove.

Catching them all would be easier, but if others were dispatched new ones would act more cautiously. Inside Gwaneum they couldn’t hide, but that would only deepen her irritation, so she decided to hold back for now.

“Then when will Mr. Kim Han arrive?”

“Who knows? I don’t either.”

A ten-day Monster Wave break; the morning of day fifty.

The Rebound Legion brightened at the news, and that mood spread to the forces watching from the northern wall. Seeing them lift their spirits made Violentia on the west and Benialis on the east start throwing their things about in agitation.